Innovation is not just for the “creative department.” Whether you work with marketing, manufacturing, human resources, sales, engineering, operations, or even finance, you need innovative ideas to solve recurring and new problems. Innovation is everyone’s business, regardless of job title or function. Innovation happens when creativity meets application, whether that is in a new thought, a new or updated product, an improved process, or an organizational transformation. Fully utilized innovation involves both development and implementation; and it includes both breakthrough thinking and incremental improvements.

Why is innovation an increasing necessity in our world?  In light of increasing competition and globalization, with customers demanding more personal and responsive service, innovation is a vital part of increasing revenues, improving cost efficiency, maximizing intellectual capital, and inspiring and engaging the workforce. The familiar maxim “if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got” is no longer true. Continuing to do what you have always done, and doing things the same way that they have always been done, will result in rapid decline - even failure.

Everyone can be an innovator, but the innovation process can take very different forms. Just as you communicate, think, and manage with a preference towards certain methods and patterns, innovation also occurs in different ways for different people.

Research from Innovation Styles, Inc. has identified four approaches to innovation, representing four strategies for innovating. Some people prefer a Visioning approach. They innovate through envisioning an ideal future. Those who employ a Modifying strategy for innovation refine what others have done, optimizing what already exists. In the Exploring innovation style, the strategy is to discover the new and novel, seeking what might be possible. The fourth style, Experimenting, relies on combining and testing. Those who are savvy in the world of innovation recognize that innovation calls for different roles and different styles at different stages of the game. For instance someone who uses a Visioning approach will work best when the challenge calls for a clear purpose and vision to define the strategy, while someone who uses an Experimenting style will function best when the goal involves multiple possibilities that need testing or experimenting.

A question that businesses ask is, “How can we build a culture that fosters innovation?” Though the answer is not simple, there are some key factors that contribute to success. One of the most important is to seek values-driven innovation. What do our values have to do with innovation? Your organizational values will shape how innovation is encouraged and rewarded, in effect shaping the culture of innovation. As innovation aligns with organizational values, greater returns are generated and others become more motivated within the work they are doing. When innovation aligns with personal values, people tap into their inner-well of energy and inspiration.

How can you incorporate successful innovation into your work or organization? Below are tips and exemplary practices that will bring life and value to innovation at your workplace.

•    Understand your innovation style and how others innovation styles function
•    Ensure that innovation is strategically on-target, that it is compelling to the mission of the organization
•    Build innovation on what is personally and professionally meaningful – so that it meets both the needs of the business and fulfills your own interests and goals
•    Ensure that the changes innovation brings makes the work better – that it makes your people more successful
•    Innovation is modeled by organizational leadership
•    Encourage innovation that grows out of the passion of your people and out of the strategic vision and mission of the organization